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South Pole/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim & Moby Tim and Moby are playing ice hockey. Tim is the goalkeeper. Moby skates toward him and shoots a puck into the net. TIM: Whoa, whoa! MOBY: Beep. Moby is holding a letter. Tim reads from the typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, What does the pole marking the South Pole look like? From, Sandra. MOBY: Beep. Moby is laughing. TIM: What are you laughing at? There actually is a pole marking the South Pole. It's striped red and white, with a metallic ball on top. An image shows the striped pole Tim described. TIM: See, told you! This Ceremonial South Pole is actually a few hundred meters away from the Geographic South Pole. Tim and Moby stand in front of the striped pole. It is marked Ceremonial South Pole. Norwegian, American, and other flags are stuck in the ground. To the left is a sign that reads Geographic South Pole, and an American flag. TIM: The Geographic South Pole is where Earth's axis of rotation meets the southern surface of the planet. An image shows the earth. An "x" marks the Geographic South Pole at the southern end of the earth, on the axis of rotation. An arrow encircles the middle of the earth, pointing in a counter-clockwise direction. TIM: It's at ninety degrees South latitude, where all the longitude lines on the planet meet. An image of the earth shows the Geographic South Pole at ninety degrees south latitude. The latitude lines are marked in thirty degree increments: 90 degrees S, 60 degrees S, 30 degrees S, 0 degrees, 30 degrees N, 60 degrees N, and 90 degrees N. The equator is at zero degrees. The longitude lines all meet at the Geographic South Pole. MOBY: Beep? Moby opens a compass. The compass needle moves to the left. TIM: The South Magnetic Pole is a different story. It's almost three-thousand kilometers away, at the spot where Earth's magnetic field points directly up and down. When people talk about the South Pole they usually name the geographic one. An image shows the earth where an “X” marks the Geographic South Pole and a second “X” to its left marks the South Magnetic Pole. Red dotted lines indicate the magnetic field. They extend up and down the earth, ending at the South Magnetic Pole. TIM: As you can see, it's located on the continent of Antarctica. A map shows Antarctica, with the Atlantic, Southern, and Pacific Oceans labeled, and the tip of South America. The Geographic South Pole is also marked. TIM: Antarctica is the largest desert in the world, with less than thirty centimeters of precipitation per year. An image shows Antarctica as an icy, mountainous landscape, even on a sunny day. TIM: Since it's so cold, the precipitation has added up over millions of years. Much of Antarctica's rocky land is covered by more than two kilometers of ice. The image shows a rocky surface far below a large area of ice. TIM: On the coasts, winds gust up to three hundred and twenty kilometers per hour. An animation shows penguins standing on ice and being blown around in the wind. TIM: And Antarctic winters see temperatures as low as minus eighty-nine degrees Celsius. An animation shows a thermometer's mercury dropping to negative 89 degrees Celsius. TIM: The South Pole winter lasts from about June 21st to September 21st, like the rest of the Southern hemisphere. But it's a dark place during its winter months. In fact, it gets no sunlight at all! An image shows the South Pole Ceremonial Pole and flags during the dark months. The stars are the only light. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, as the earth orbits the sun, the tilt of its axis stays constant. So from about March 21st to September 21st, the sun does not shine on the South Pole. And from September 21st to March 21st, the sun never sets. An animation shows how the tilt of the earth’s axis stays the same as it orbits the sun. The dates September 21 and March 21 are marked on opposite sides of the earth’s orbit of the sun. Images show pictures of a dark South Pole and a light, sunny South Pole. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Despite the harsh conditions, hundreds of species of plants grow there, mostly mosses and lichens. An image shows the plant life Tim describes, primarily in rocky areas. TIM: And a surprising number of animals, like penguins, whales, and sea lions, call Antarctica home. An image shows these three animals. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, no people actually live there full-time. Humans first reached the South Pole in 1911, in an expedition led by a Norwegian explorer named Roald Amundsen. An image shows Amundsen and two other explorers dressed in warm clothing planting a Norwegian flag at the South Pole. TIM: These days, scientists from around the world work in outposts on the continent. But they don't stay there year-round, so the South Pole has no permanent human population, and no government. An image shows an outpost standing alone in the snow. It has a large satellite dish on its roof. TIM: Visitors follow a set of international laws called the Antarctic Treaty System. Tim is shaking from the cold. TIM: Okay, can we go back now? MOBY: Beep. TIM: Oh right, the ozone hole. In the 1980s, scientists noticed a drastic thinning of the ozone layer over Antarctica. An image shows Antarctica. An animation shows the ozone layer with a dark hole in it. TIM: The ozone layer matters because it protects us from the sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation. An animation shows a sweating penguin standing in the bright sun. TIM: And it keeps the polar ice caps from melting too fast. An image shows the earth with the north and south polar ice caps labeled. TIM: Over seventy percent of the fresh water on Earth is locked up in the Antarctic ice. An animation shows frozen land and blocks of ice in the ocean. TIM: If it all melted, sea levels around the world would rise dramatically, and who knows what would happen to the weather? An animation shows the Empire State building surrounded by rising flood waters. Cars, street signs, and other objects float by as the sky turns dark and stormy. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, most developed countries have stopped making the chemicals that destroy ozone, so that's one step in the right direction. MOBY: Beep. TIM: What? You know how to make ozone? MOBY: Beep. TIM: Huh. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, we have to stay here for you to do it? Um, well, you can stay here, but… Tim is shivering. MOBY: Beep. TIM: What? No! You do some jumping jacks. Tim starts doing jumping jacks. TIM: I'm still cold. Still cold. Moby! Category:BrainPOP Transcripts